Lamar soccer falls to SFA in Southland semifinal

Lamar's Anna Loftus battles against the pressure of Stephen F. Austin's Katelyn Termini (left) and Breanna Moore during their Southland Conference semi-final game at Lamar.
Photo taken Friday, November 2, 2018
Kim Brent/The Enterprise less

Lamar's Anna Loftus battles against the pressure of Stephen F. Austin's Katelyn Termini (left) and Breanna Moore during their Southland Conference semi-final game at Lamar.
Photo taken Friday, November 2, ... more

Photo: Kim Brent, The Enterprise

Photo: Kim Brent, The Enterprise

Image
1of/39

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 39

Lamar's Anna Loftus battles against the pressure of Stephen F. Austin's Katelyn Termini (left) and Breanna Moore during their Southland Conference semi-final game at Lamar.
Photo taken Friday, November 2, 2018
Kim Brent/The Enterprise less

Lamar's Anna Loftus battles against the pressure of Stephen F. Austin's Katelyn Termini (left) and Breanna Moore during their Southland Conference semi-final game at Lamar.
Photo taken Friday, November 2, ... more

Photo: Kim Brent, The Enterprise

Lamar soccer falls to SFA in Southland semifinal

1 / 39

Back to Gallery

A late goal for Stephen F. Austin off the head of junior Carli Arthurs eventually eliminated the Lamar University women's soccer team from the Southland Conference tournament during a 2-1 loss to the Lumberjacks on Friday night at the LU Soccer Complex.

With the score tied at one and the clock ticking under 10 minutes in the second half, SFA earned a corner kick that proved costly for Lamar.

Sophomore Sophia Fondren took the kick, bending it to the near post and finding the head of Arthurs for what turned out to be the game-winning goal.

The loss ends Lamar's reign as the Southland Conference champions after winning the tournament last season. SFA, which entered as the seventh seed, now advances to its third straight conference championship game on Sunday against top-seeded Abilene Christian in Beaumont.

Set pieces were a problem for Lamar all tournament long, coach Steve Holeman said.

"We gave up two goals on set pieces against Southeast Louisiana and then obviously the game-winner here tonight," Holeman said. "We work on defending set pieces all the time, but (SFA) is very good in the air and made a good play on the ball."

WSOC: @SFA_Soccer goes up 2-1 on @Lamarwsoccer with just over 7 min remaining. Arthurs scores on header, assist by Fondren.

SFA struck first in the 20th minute on a ball from just outside the box by Katelyn Termini that seemed to catch Lamar freshman keeper Sandra Nygard off guard. A hard and low shot from Termini made its way past Nygard, giving SFA a 1-0 lead.

But Lamar soon responded roughly ten minutes later with a goal from senior Kelso Peskin.

Both teams had quality opportunities early in the second half, but neither could convert. As the half wore on, however, SFA started to gain control.

The Lumberjacks outshot Lamar 10-3 in the second half as Nygard made five saves after halftime to keep the score tied as long as possible.

But in the 82nd minute, Arthurs' header broke that 1-1 tie. Lamar had a few minor chances in the final five minutes, but nothing came of them.

For the game, Lamar was outshot 17-8.

Four seniors played their last game in the loss for Lamar soccer. Holeman said they had a crucial role in turning the program around after the Cardinals had just two total wins in 2016.

Since then, Lamar soccer has won 30 games over the last two seasons.

"They helped carry this program to a new level," Holeman said. "Now, expectations are high. We expect to win championships here now. We fell short this year, but everything we've accomplished bodes well for the future."